When President Donald Trumpdeclared himself a nationaliston Oct. 22 , 2018 , the gasps that exhale from many segments of the American population were equaled only by the chants that erupted in the Texas arena in which the president speak .
Using that full term — and the ideology known as nationalism — has that kind of effect in a country so split along ideologic fault lines . patriotism is a word many associate withNazisand racists , anti - immigration and the far right . But it is one , to others , that entail something much less sinister , something noble : a superbia in country above all else .
Like much of Trump ’s presidency , you may need to pick a side on this one .
" I believe the brouhaha is part just anti - Trumpism , double-dyed and mere , " saysJack Citrin , professor emeritus in the political skill department at the University of California , Berkeley . " And part of it is a more serious engagement with what sort of a nationalism is a nationalism that is appropriate , that is liberal , that is inclusive , and that is not harsh and regressive . "
What Is Nationalism?
First , theMerriam - Websterdefinition ( which may or may not be the definition Trump ascribe to ):
The initial parentage there is one that almost no one would find problematic . But buried in that 2nd part is a passage that has some distressful — really , really perturbing — about America and its spot in Trump ’s worldview . particularly troublesome are the bits aboutexalting one nation above all othersandpromotion of its culture and interest as opposed to those of other country or supranational groups .
To critic , Trump ’s patriotism stop a narrow view of what America should be . He want to build walls to keep out immigrant , pull back aid to foreign land and stomp on old alliance . Still , to others , Trump ’s " America First " position is position - on , even in a world inextricably tied together by common issues ( trade and immigration , for two red-hot - release topic ) and transnational agreements .
" I ’m somebody that wants to help other countries of the world , but I also have to take care — we have to take tutelage of our country,“Trump told reportersfrom the Oval Office on Oct. 23 , 2018 , the day after his rallying in Texas . " We ca n’t persist in to allow ourselves to be put one over on armed forces , and gull on business deal . "
Trump is far from the first president who has bosom " nationalism . " Teddy Roosevelt trumpeted a " New Nationalism , " but it was one that called for " a wholesale programme of social reform contrive to put human rights above dimension rights . " Roosevelt , according to the University of Virginia’sMiller Center , also wanted " to increase the influence and prestige of the United States on the world stage and make the country a global power . He also believed that the exportation of American value and ideals would have an ennobling effect on the world . "
The Danger of the Word
concord to the gaspers and Trump bashers , the call to nationalism does n’t mean " America First " as much as it intend " Trump ’s elbow room . " The specific word " nationalism , " some critics say , is a call to elector who are " blanched nationalists " or support strict agendas that turn out all sorting of traditionally non - American group , late immigrant , masses of color , LGBTQpeople and others .
Still , it ’s crucial to note that even some of Trump ’s harshest critic are a little reluctant to go that far .
" I do n’t think patriotism is just a code word for ' white hoi polloi , ' " Jeffrey Toobin , a lawyer , source and CNN commentator , say on the Situation Roomwith Wolf Blitzer . " depend , [ Trump ] does so much real racism , I think we should criticize him for his actual racism rather than what I reckon is an unfair criticism for this … "
The term " nationalism " often is tie in to race and ethnicity , Citrin point out , because that ’s how nations are work up .
" Once you say , ' OK , we are body politic ' … what is the base of that body politic ? Who is in , who is out ? " he says . " In the innovative world , it becomes a substantial contentious publication ; who belong and what is the rudimentary groundwork of the commonwealth ? Is it ethnic — Protestant , ashen , whatever — or is it civic , in which anyone can belong ?
" Every clock time there has been a unexampled wave of immigration , there ’s been this conflict of ' who are we ? ' . To some degree , Trump with his rhetoric , has blown up the issue : Is America really a commonwealth that absorbs all sorts of people from dissimilar backdrop ? "
Another problem some see with Trump ’s stain of patriotism is that , rather of export American values and gentle the ease of the world , as Roosevelt imagined , it threatens to leave the U.S. isolated . FromThe Washington Postearlier this yr :
Maybe at the root of the problem is that , despite Merriam - Webster ’s best intentions , the full term " patriotism " has multiple definition and multiple connotations . It ’s linked , Citrin says , to the idea that all rural area have a right to ego - determination ; the right hand to be what they need to be .
" Nationalism is a kind of ideology , a soundbox of parameter on ideas of what defines a nation , who ’s in and who ’s out and what a commonwealth means , " he says .
In that definition , most Americans are nationalists . We simply differ on what kind of a nation we are , and what we should be .
